A missing dentist from Andover, Minn. was found in a wooded area with a head injury, the Wadena County Sheriff's Department reported.

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Around 3:50 p.m. on Monday, authorities were alerted that Thomas John Knox, 56, did not show up for work that morning and had been in Wadena County cutting brush for deet trails on his property in Huntersville Township.

Deputies searched his residence but couldn't find Knox, a sheriff's report said. But Knox's vehicle was found by family friends two miles southeast of Nimrod in Lyons Township on another piece of property he owns.

Knox's friends searched the area but were unable to locate him. They learned he had been clear-cutting deer trails on his tractor.

Sebeka Fire and Rescue, Wadena County Sheriff's ATV patrol, the sheriff's posse and a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter joined the search. Sebeka Fire and Rescue found Knox and his tractor on the southeast side of that property.

Knox had sustained a serious head injury by a tree falling on him while on the tractor, the sheriff's office said. The tractor ran into another tree, spinning the tires until it ran out of gas.

Knox was airlifted from the scene by North Air Care Helicopter and transported to North Memorial Medical Center in the Twin Cities. Sheriff Mike Carr said Knox did have his eyes open but was in extreme shock and was unable to respond to medical personnel.

Carr said Knox most likely had been out over night in the woods and figures he was there for approximately 25-30 hours based on his last communication on his cell phone, which was found in his vehicle. As of the time of a press release, the only information reported to the sheriff from a family friend on his condition was that he had a serious skull fracture.